cold hands, hot cheeks, boy hair

Category: Lush

I’m so late to the party with this one, but now I’m here, I’m staying ’til the lights come on.

There’s a reasonable excuse for my tardiness, though; when I was younger I bought a selection of bath fizzes on holiday and after using only one of them I came out in a horribly itchy rash from my neck to my toes. Ever since I’ve avoided anything strongly perfumed like the plague and, because you can smell a Lush store from 100 metres away, that meant all things Lush.

Having bought a Lush lip scrub a few months ago (it was vigorously recommended to me by a friend) and having not come out in hives, I wondered back in my local store to have a nose around and came away with these three pots of loveliness.

Big Salt Shampoo, £12.25

I have fine hair and a lot of it so I am constantly adding all sorts of products to give it a bit of life: hairspray, wax sprays, gels, gums, leave-in conditioners, mousses, toners, dry shampoos, serums – you name it and it’s probably in my hair. As such, it doesn’t seem to stay fresh for more than a day without looking and feeling heavy and greasy. Lush’s Big Salt Shampoo is the answer; its unique formula is designed to remove this gunk by exfoliating your hair and scalp, leaving both wonderfully smooth and refreshed (and smelling of fresh laundry!).

The name is literal: huge chunks of sea salt are suspended in a lusciously thick shampoo. The salt acts as an exfoliator, scrubbing away dirt from the scalp and hair strands, and a volume booster (along with the help of extra virgin olive oil and seaweed, both rich in protein) by slightly drying the hair, much like a sea salt spray does. With reduced moisture, the hair is not so ‘slippy’ and less like to slide out of shape and style, meaning it’s easy to achieve that beachy, tousled look that’s ideal for Spring.

Of course, if used too regularly, the salt will begin to dry your hair too much; I only use it once a week at the most. Another reason I have to use this sparingly (*sad face*) is because it contains lemon and lime juice, both natural bleaching agents. While these help make your hair look ultra-shiny, they are the nemesis of toners and hair colourants. As with any shampoo, toners and hair colours will fade, but the added ingredients in this pot of magic will accelerate this.

Overall, then, I’d definitely recommend this product for those of you who, like me, choke in a cloud of hairspray each morning and, by the end of the week, feel like their head is clogged full of product. I’ve never before used a shampoo that has been so effective at removing all those nasty gunky bits in such a natural, gentle way.

Rub, Rub, Rub, £8.75

So if Big Salt is an exfoliator for your head, this is for your bod. Again, the secret with this is sea-salt. Having sensitive skin, I was a little nervous that the formula would bring me out in spots, but the fine grains of salt offer gentle exfoliation as well as antiseptic properties that helps remove dead skin without causing agitation.

The mixture lathers only slightly when mixed with water meaning it doesn’t lose any of it’s impact and leaves skin feeling super soft, fresh and hydrated. A body scrub that also moisturises is quite difficult to come by in my experience; as you can see in the picture below, the scrub is quite loose and seems to leave behind an oily residue on the skin.

For a Lush product, I personally find the smell rather so-so. Made with mimosa blossoms, the scrub has a very verrrrry ‘clean’ smell, which is nice, but not particularly girly or sweet smelling for my taste. That being said, it’s not an awful smell and always makes the product suitable for guys too (don’t say I never think of you gentlemen ;)).

The only warning I offer is to be careful using this after shaving. Yes, I know you should exfoliate and then shave, but sometimes I forget… The citrus juice and salt in this mixture will soon let you know if you’ve nicked your leg…

Helping Hands, £7.75

I can’t stand when my hands are dry; when it feels like any sudden movements will result in split skin and flecks of blood. As I’m usually covered in make-up, I repeatedly wash them with soap and water, which does nothing for my skin. Lush’s Helping Hands hand cream is perfect for restoring all this lost moisture and making my skin feel supple again.

This cream particularly targets sore hands: honey, lavender and marigold bring relief to sore and chapped skin; chamomile reduces redness and linseed softens skin to limit splitting and flaking. All Lush moisturisers rely on an amazing cocktail of natural emollients. Helping Hands is packed full of almond oil, cocoa butter and shea butter to create a thick lotion that takes only seconds to soak in, leaving no greasy residue only wonderfully soft skin.

Again, the smell is divisive. The most prominent smells are that of the butters which both have a peculiar nutty, almost smoky, smell, but it is by no means overpowering and seems to disappear as soon as the lotion sinks into the skin.

So there are my first Lush purchases and they won’t be my last! Though they’re not cheap, the quality of the products are unbelievable and knowing that every ingredient has been selected from a natural source with individual thought as to it’s purpose and effect makes every single penny worth it.

What are your favourite Lush products? What would you recommend I try next?